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Background The present study aimed to assess the therapeutic effects of boron citrate and oleoylethanolamide supplementation in patients with COVID-19. Methods Forty adult patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19 were recruited in the present study. Patients were randomized in a 1:1:1:1 allocation ratio to 1of 4 treatment groups: (A) 5 mg of boron citrate twice a day, (B) 200 mg of oleoylethanolamide twice a day, (C) both therapies, or (D) routine treatments without any study medications. At pre-and post-intervention phase, some clinical and biochemical parameters were assessed. Results Supplementation with boron citrate alone or in combination with oleoylethanolamide significantly improved O2 saturation and respiratory rate (p<0.01). At the end of the study, significant increases in white blood cell and lymphocyte count were observed in the boron citrate and combined groups (p<0.001). Boron citrate supplementation led to a significant decrease in serum lactate dehydrogenase (p=0.026) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p=0.014), compared with other groups. Furthermore, boron citrate in combination with oleoylethanolamide resulted in a significant reduction in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and interleukin-1β concentrations (p=0.031 and p=0.027, respectively). No significant differences were found among four groups post-intervention, in terms of hemoglobin concentrations, platelet count, and serum interleukin-6 levels. At the end of the study, common symptoms of COVID-19 including cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, and myalgia significantly improved in the supplemented groups, compared to the placebo (p<0.05). Conclusion Supplementation with boron citrate alone or in combination with oleoylethanolamide could improve some clinical and biochemical parameters in COVID-19 patients.

A novel extracellular lipase with organic solvent tolerance was isolated from a local Pseudomonas species. The lipase gene was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli as a heterologous host and purified by affinity chromatography. The activity of purified lipase was investigated in the presence of imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) such as EMIM[Cl], BMIM[Cl], and HMIM[Cl]. It has been found that the activity of treated lipase with ILs was higher than untreated control in the hydrolysis reaction. Also, the results indicated that the enzymatic activity strongly depends on IL concentration in reaction media. The best concentration of the IL was 30%, 45%, and 50% (v/v) for HMIM[Cl], BMIM[Cl], and EMIM[Cl], respectively. Additionally, the enzyme exhibited excellent stability in the presence of 25% of n-hexane, toluene, acetone, and t-butanol. The optimum values of pH and temperature were determined 10 and 55 °C, respectively. The K (m) and V (max) values were calculated 0.4 mM and 1.92 U/ml, respectively, using p-nitrophenyl palmitate as substrate. With respect to the biochemical properties of the newly isolated lipase such as high-level stability and noticeable activity in the presence of organic solvents and ionic liquids, the newly isolated lipase seems to be a good candidate for environmental and industrial processes carried out in non-aqueous media.

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